Murphy loses heated battle with conference opponent
Murphy – The Bulldogs’ varsity basketball teams took on Cherokee in a Smoky Mountain Conference battle Friday night.
The Braves traveled to Murphy for their second meeting this season. The Dogs got the win when they headed to the Qualla Boundary on Jan. 21, but the Dogs fell to the Braves on Friday night.
The Lady Dogs lost to the Lady Braves for the second time this season when they took on one of the top-ranked teams in the state.
Boys varsity
It was a heated contest Friday night as the Dogs took on the Braves for the second time this season. The Braves came out with the win despite late-game antics that resulted in the game ending with a second still left on the clock.
The Dogs fell to the Braves 72-49 on Friday night. In their first meeting, the Dogs won 72-61.
Murphy’s record is 2-5 in the Smoky Mountain Conference and 11-9 overall.
Girls varsity
The Lady Dogs fell Friday night to Cherokee 73-19. The Lady Braves started the game with a massive 36-point first quarter, while holding Murphy to only three points.
In the second quarter, the Lady Braves added 19 more points and held the Lady Dogs scoreless to lead 55-3 at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Lady Dogs put up 10 points for their highest-scoring quarter of the game. The Lady Braves added 12 points and led 67-13 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, both teams scored six points to net the final 73-19 Cherokee win.
Up next
The Dogs will host in-county rivals Andrews on Thursday as they celebrate Senior Night. The girls start at 6:30 p.m., while the boys will play at 8 p.m. for their second meeting of the season. Their game against Andrews will wrap up their regular season.
They will then look ahead to next week’s SMC tournament where one team will win the SMC crown.
At press time, the Bulldogs are 2-5 in the conference and 11-9 overall. The Lady Bulldogs are also 2-5 in the conference and 9-13 overall. The Dogs have conference wins over Cherokee and Swain County. The Lady Dogs have conference wins over Hayesville in Swain.
The Dogs sit at fifth place in the SMC and the Lady Bulldogs are also in fifth place, at press time.
They will look to bounce back and pick up a late season win when they take on Andrews in their season finale.